Many people we have been talking to, many have been with The Army for many years and have said that we haven't had teaching on holiness for ages. Well now it's making it's come back.
This years session at Training College for 2009-2010 are called the "Ambassadors of Holiness" and I am one of them. We have had much teaching on holiness this year and even in my private life I have been searching this out since I haven't had 'teaching' as such in the past, but it is the best thing even before sliced bread!!
Holiness has been taught in The Salvation Army since it's beginings, but in more recent days we haven't used the term 'holiness' as much as previously, we may have used words such as 'Christ likeness' or blameless or even in all teachings of putting sin behind us and becoming blameless before God.
One quote we use around the College a heap is 'holiness is the solution to every problem' and I think it just might be the case.
Be holy.. cos God told you to!! I know we don't like taking orders, even from God, but it's something that when tasted, you will want more, just like a juicy peach in summer with the juice running down your chin.. ok, enough dreaming of summer.
Holiness, it's the way of the past and IS the way of the future - eternal future!!
"Who among the gods is like you, O LORD ? Who is like you— majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?"
6 comments:
You may have heard the news about Danny Nalliah's recent concern about satanic forces operating from Mt Ainslie, Canberra :-
http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/exorcising-the-forces-of-evil-in-canberra-20091013-guwe.html
A quick google search found the following blog entry on "Loon Pond" :
http://loonpond.blogspot.com/2009/10/pastor-danny-nalliah-andrew-bolt-peter.html
I think this is right up your alley, Simon. Are you already involved in Danny's campaign to save Australia from Evil? I mean will you be at Mt Ainslie talking the Christian mumbo-jumbo, spinning the magic prayer wheel and hoping to get a some action from God?
The more I read your blog Simon, the more I realise how different Salvation Army Corps can be!
Half the stuff you discuss here barely even gets a look in at the two Salvos I've been involved in recently. I guess you'd say we have a more contemporary or pentecostal church approach, as opposed to the way I've traditionally seen Salvo services 'done'.
I guess the Corps and services you're involved in are more Traditional Salvos, when compared to mine. I mean heck, we don't even use words like Corps or YPSM or Major/Captain at our Church!!! I think I shared about that a bit when we were in Rwanda.
Yet, it's still intrinsically Salvo.
(In all honesty though, we'd follow a much more 'pentecostal' type service when compared to the more well-known Salvo Corps in Brisbane, Sydney & Melbourne).
Hey David, yeah I was going to be a part of it, but have been assigned elsewhere this Sunday, but you're right, it is up my alley :)
Sascha, it's not about being traditional or anything else, this is the teaching at the Training College, it is The Salvation Army! Are you sure you're attending the Army still, since Corps, Majors/Captains, Uniforms etc are things you find in the Army - maybe you're really attending a pentecostal church!? Check the name of the place lol
I have heard of a few guys trying to make their Corps more pentecostal, but you wouldn't dress your dog in rabbit ears if you just want a rabbit, you would get a rabbit - if you want to be pentecostal, go to a pentecostal church, The Salvation Army is meant to be The Salvation Army - nothing else! See what I mean, if the Army is being something it's not, then it is no longer relevant, but we as the Army have a specific purpose still and many Corps are not fulfilling it, and they maybe are the ones wanting to call themselves 'churches' when we are really Corps. Worship styles differ according to the personality of the Corps (who's there and what is available), and the mission can slightly vary according to location, but the DNA of The Salvation Army will be in every Corps, so what is that, what does that look like?? What is your Corps, or 'church', doing in the community, what is it's mission and purpose?
A few thoughts.
What is 'holiness' Simon? I've heard different meanings attributed to the word, so I'm interested to hear your version. How do you get to be 'holy'? How do you stay 'holy'? Can you stop being 'holy', and if so how?
Hey Jack, really good questions!
In short, being holy is trying to be like Jesus; without sin and blameless in God's sight.
To stay holy means walking through life close to God being guided and led by the Holy Spirit. If you do something that is tending towards sinful, the Spirit will convict/pick you up on it so you can stay in the state of 'holiness'. Holiness doesn't mean perfect though, just blameless in your motives.
Yes you can stop being holy if you stop walking with God and making a priority of things that are not of God. For example, if I chose to rather follow something that I wanted to, that was against God's principles that would be un-holy.
Hope that answers some of your question in short - it is a large topic :)
So who decides if you are 'holy' or not? Your definition of sin may be different from someone else's definition, so if you think you are 'holy' but someone else believes there is still some sin in your life, who is right? Is it solely dependent on what you believe you are being convicted of? If so, how reliable is your ability to discern what is the Holy Spirit and what is simply your own mind at work?
Post a Comment